How fast will you drive your vintage mercedes at?

[strelnik]

Originally Posted by fonzi

Well said.

I can tell you that the 350SDL, when properly tuned, easily goes over 110 no problem.


I had one but drove another one on a test track out west in Arizona, and with T-rated tires, the only problem is you think you're driving 60 MPH...




I think that's why the Germans used to call the big six the " Hammer Car" aka "der Hammerwagen."

[rwd4evr]

Originally Posted by bracurrie

Used to drive my 73 450 SE 80 to 100 regularly. My 70 280 SE seems to be a little uptight at speeds over 80, but I have been told its capable of cruising 100 all day long. Maybe I am getting older but 80 is comfortable on the ears and I can go as far either my bladder or gas tank can go.
Well maintained these cars seem to run better if driven regularly with vigor. If the car isn't sorted out then driving it lightly is all you have.

Yes. So many run poorly because they never get the carbon burnt and blown out. I'll bet my m117 that get romped on all day drifting looks 100x better inside than a 450sl that someone just pokes around in "babying" it all the time. You need to open it up fully at least occasionally if not all the time.

Sent from my SM-J737A using Tapatalk

[morrisone]

Originally Posted by strelnik

I can tell you that the 350SDL, when properly tuned, easily goes over 110 no problem.


I had one but drove another one on a test track out west in Arizona, and with T-rated tires, the only problem is you think you're driving 60 MPH...




I think that's why the Germans used to call the big six the " Hammer Car" aka "der Hammerwagen."

I’ll never forget drooling over the AMG Hammer when it came out! It’s an eight cylinder, but still worthy of the name .

[280EZRider]

On the highway, lack of cops permitting, I usually cruise between 80 and 100 mph. 21 years ago while traveling in Mexico, I cruised at 110 mph (4800 rpm) most of the day. The highest I've had the car is 120 mph. But this is a, now, 43 year old 280E with a red line of 6500 rpm.

[aluminum]

I remember driving my 1990 Porsche 911 one time Eastern Washington going to Idaho @ 135 MPH for 1 hour and it was fine , solid, but i started thinking what if a deer ran out and slowed to 80 MPH and if felt like I was barely moving at 80 after driving faster.
After that I had to force myself to only drive 80 so slow it felt like. My 450 75 Mercedes SEL Loves it the faster you go hour after hour. Some Cop gave me a ticket one time @ 105 MPH near Mojave about 3 AM clear weather and no traffic He gave me a dirty look when I told him the car would do 150 Easy and said don't do it. Driver school after that to keep the insurance down . Yup my 250 Mercedes scream with the Revs at Hi speed but you get used to it and can cruise at Hi speed but as stated the Suspension must be in order like all cars .

[geen]

got my 280SEL up t0 100 once. With the three speed it revs pretty high at 100 and is a lot louder than my E550. my 280SEL was in nice shape but with 14 inch wheels and tires that are not to wide carving up the roads at higher speeds does not give the driver much confidence.

[cornemuse]

When I drove my '50 170d, (been parked for 20 years), it would go 65 on level ground with a strong tailwind.

Actually thinking about selling it, , , , been in the way for 19 of those 20, , , ,

[Tomguy]

Originally Posted by geen

got my 280SEL up t0 100 once. With the three speed it revs pretty high at 100 and is a lot louder than my E550. my 280SEL was in nice shape but with 14 inch wheels and tires that are not to wide carving up the roads at higher speeds does not give the driver much confidence.

Must have been the 2.8 because the 4.5 does not have a problem going much quicker, second gear can take you almost that quick alone

[KCLOSE]

Thanks for the info everyone, nice to see the different takes on higher speeds in these old girls.
FWIW I replaced my ‘05 C55 ( 15 years and 200+K dead reliable miles ) with a 67 W108 250SE as my new daily driver. I needed to slow the heck down. I do a 110 mile round trip highway commute to work ( year round but only on dry roads ) with no issues at 65-70 for about 6 months now. It’s busy at speed as old cars are, but remarkably modern all the way around. I picked up a ‘73 4.5 car that I’m gonna part out for the rear end to improve fuel mileage a bit, but it does admirably as it is.

[bracurrie]

Originally Posted by KCLOSE

I picked up a ‘73 4.5 car that I’m gonna part out for the rear end to improve fuel mileage a bit, but it does admirably as it is.

I would recommend not going that high on final rive ratio associated with the V8. The gearing to increase your existing rear end is available, I believe. that would preserve some low end performance.

[123&Away]

I tested my 1982 280E today since I thought it was misfiring. Still got it up to 100Mph briefly with more on tap. I think it’s happiest at 80-85 though a bit screamy.

There is a YouTube video of someone going up to 125 mph and it changes into 4th at about 90 mph. But is that manual or auto. My auto box changes into 4th at about 40 mph.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[back-seat-driver]

91 Mercedes 250TD.

How fast will I drive her? As fast as she will go. 105/ 106 mph is about the limit for her anyway, and yes, we've been there.

How do I deal with the noise? Turn up the stereo. No i'm kidding. W124s aren't too bad on the noise front. The euro ones aren't quite as good as the North American ones in terms of noise insulation, but at +100 it's all academic.

[Tony H]

I think a lot of it is how much risk one can tolerate. The comment of hitting a deer comes to mind. I used to drive my 250SE at 100MPH in Germany for hrs on end then once I hit ice (I heard the engine speeding up when I was slowing down) Kind of frightened me a bit.
85-90 on the freeway is max for me. Maybe more in a safer, modern car. I hit a deer in my Tacoma recently going about 55 and it was quite a bump.

[t walgamuth]

I had my 617 powered 39 Studebaker Coupe express up to indicated 90....with error probably only 80. It felt like it would do a bit more.

[morrisone]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I had my 617 powered 39 Studebaker Coupe express up to indicated 90....with error probably only 80. It felt like it would do a bit more.

Wow. How much power is the 617 putting down in that configuration?